He's doing quite well. The wound is filling in nicely, and today we graduated from being wrapped to unwrapped, just spritzed with that silvery aluminum stuff. I'm to cold-hose it and re-spritz it every day, call the vet to update in a couple of days, and turn him out pretty much as usual starting tomorrow. He's still on Uniprim, will be for another few days.
Commander's had a lot of stall rest and limited turnout, which he has tolerated pretty well. He has had a couple of releases into his field, a liberation which was greeted with mighty bucks and gleeful galloping. Despite the hijinks, he managed to get the bandage displaced only once during the course of his treatment. But then, it was a very good job, done daily at first, then every other day:
Another view:
The one time he did dislodge it, the top half worked down below his hock but went no farther, and I was able to cut it off with him standing loose in the field, grazing busily while I carefully snipped it free.
Ben has been content with barn confinement to keep Commander company. As long as he has hay he's happy. He's equally happy to hang out with Commander when they're out, nudging him to go wherever Ben thinks they ought to be. In the field, the two are usually grazing within a few feet of each other.
Update from today, June 21:
Things are inching toward resolution. Over the weekend I became concerned since the wound site, while no longer open or weeping, became puffed out. The skin edges looked fine; the uncovered flesh was a healthy pink; but over the course of three or four days since the bandage's removal, the area slowly grew from slightly raised to undersized-walnut size. Okay, more like pecan-sized. Bigger, anyway.
No exudate appeared. The area was firm, and except for one day, Saturday, when he picked up that leg a few times, Commander didn't react when I palpated around and on the enlarged area. Even firm pushes were ignored. He was also unfazed by my hosing followed by towelling off the area before applying the wound spray.
Consulted the vet on Sunday. We decided it might well be excessive granulation rather than continued infection. Since Commander finished his last dose of Uniprim on Saturday, we've chosen to leave well enough alone for now. Continue cold hosing, continue applying the aluminum spray, and watch the area. If there's still an infection lurking within, it will announce itself shortly.
So far, so good. Today the area was no larger. Might even have been a wee bit smaller, or perhaps that's simply wishful thinking. Still firm, clean, and not the least bit tender to touch. The wound edge looks healthy and the open area might could be a smidgen nearer to closing. Commander throughout has been totally sound on that leg, so I think we can discard any lingering worries about the infection getting into the hock joint.
And now -- pony pix! From the 15th, when he still had his bandage on. It's amazing, how they can find anything to graze upon in their thoroughly eaten-down paddock, but when the field is closed off, they do.
Behold the noble Morgan, in all his graceful majesty!
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